Overview

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE

We survived the zombie apocalypse, but how many of us are still haunted by that terrible time? We have (temporarily?) defeated the living dead, but at what cost? Told in the haunting and riveting voices of the men and women who witnessed the horror firsthand, World War Z, now a #1 New York Times bestseller, is the only record of the plague years.

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This Book

Overview

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE

We survived the zombie apocalypse, but how many of us are still haunted by that terrible time? We have (temporarily?) defeated the living dead, but at what cost? Told in the haunting and riveting voices of the men and women who witnessed the horror firsthand, World War Z, now a #1 New York Times bestseller, is the only record of the plague years.

World War Z

Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble

An attack by two hundred million zombies cannot be ignored, especially if it is rendered in a simulated oral history by Max Brooks. His 2006 World War Z struck a chord for fans of post-apocalyptic fiction, so deep apparently that film rights were snatched up quickly. The long-awaited film, which stars Brad Pitt, will hit screens on June 21st, but there is no reason to wait: This movie tie-in edition sets the terrifying scene ever so perfectly. Crossover appeal; editor's recommendation. (P.S. A NOOK Book of the original edition is also available: 9780307351937, $11.99).

From the Publisher

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERUSA TODAY BESTSELLERWALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER

“An ‘oral history’ of the global war the evil brain-chewers came within a hair of winning. Zombies are among us—turn on your television if you don’t believe it. But, Brooks reassures us, even today, human fighters are hunting down the leftovers, and we’re winning. [His] iron-jaw narrative is studded with practical advice on what to do when the zombies come, as they surely will. A literate, ironic, strangely tasty treat.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Max Brooks has charted the folly of a disaster response based solely on advanced technologies and brute force in this step-by-step guide to what happened in the Zombie War. He details with extraordinary insight how in the face of institutional missteps and greed, people in unexpected ways achieve unique, creative, and effective strategies to survive and fight back. Brooks’s account of the path to recovery and reconstruction after the war is fascinating, too. World War Z provides us with a starting point, at least, a basic blueprint from which to build a popular understanding of how, when, and why such a disaster came to be, and how small groups and individuals survived.” —Jeb Weisman, Ph.D.,Director of Strategic Technologies, National Center for Disaster Preparedness

“Prepare to be entranced by this addictively readable oral history of the great war between humans and zombies. . . . Will grab you as tightly as a dead man’s fist. A.”—Entertainment Weekly, EW Pick

“Probably the most topical and literate scare since Orson Welles' War of the Worlds radio broadcast. . . . This is action-packed social-political satire with a global view.”—Dallas Morning News

“Brooks [is] America’s most prominent maven on the living dead. . . . Chilling. . . . It is gripping reading and a scathing indictment of weak responses to crises real and over-hyped.”—Hartford Courant

“A sober, frequently horrifying and even moving account. . . . Brooks has delivered a full-blown horror novel, laced with sharp social and political observations and loads of macabre, gruesome imagery. . . . The real horror of World War Z comes from the all-too-plausible responses of human beings and governments to the menace.”—Fangoria“A horror fan’s version of Studs Terkel’s The Good War. . . . Like George Romero’s Dead trilogy, World War Z is another milestone in the zombie mythology.”—Booklist“Brooks commits to detail in a way that makes his nightmare world creepily plausible. . . . Far more affecting than anything involving zombies really has any right to be. . . . The book . . . opens in blood and guts, turns the world into an oversized version of hell, then ends with and affirmation of humanity’s ability to survive the worst the world has to offer. It feels like the right book for the right times, and that’s the eeriest detail of all.”—A.V. Club, The Onion“The best science fiction has traditionally been steeped in social commentary. World War Z continues that legacy. . . . We haven’t been this excited about a book without pictures since–well, since ever.”—Metro“Each story locks together perfectly to create a wonderful, giddy suspense. Brooks also has the political savvy to take advantage of any paranoia a modern reader might feel. . . . The perfect book for all us zombie junkies.”—Paste

“This infectious and compelling book will have nervous readers watching the streets for zombies. Recommended.”—Library Journal

"The Stud Terkel of zombie journalism," MAX BROOKS is also the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Zombie Survival Guide and The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks. formed the core of the world’s civilian survival manuals during the Zombie War.

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Customer Reviews

SeriesJunky

Posted May 18, 2013

With the movie coming up I figured I'd see what the book was all

With the movie coming up I figured I'd see what the book was all about first. Let me tell you it's a short book, but wow a great read and almost a spot on recount of how the world would truly react in the event of some kind of pandemic. Uniquely written in the form of an interview process. There is no main character, only interviews with people across the world and their account on what happened to them. Very Very Interesting and a MUST READ!!

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted January 19, 2015

I read the book ¿World War Z¿ by Max Brooks for my ELA 9 assignm

I read the book “World War Z” by Max Brooks for my ELA 9 assignment. There is no exact setting or main character because the book is written through interviews of people aroung the world who survived the zombie apocalypse and they explained what happened or how it happened. The main conflict is how the world survived a disease that wiped out a lot of the world’s population and those who were infected ate other people infecting them. The infection continued to annihilate the remainder of the population. This book shows the people who survived it whether they were scientist or a person stranded in an area overrun by zombies. This is what the main plot of the story is.I liked this book because it was really interesting the way it was written through other people’s eyes. I would recommend this novel to anyone who likes any kind of zombie book or post disaster scenarios. The book was a little confusing at the star because of the way it was written, but got easier to read in the end. One thing I don’t like was that the book was so short. Yes I would recommend this book to others.

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Anonymous

Posted June 26, 2014

good

good

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Anonymous

Posted November 7, 2013

This is a very good read, especially if you enjoy reading or wat

This is a very good read, especially if you enjoy reading or watching zombie related things.The way the author chose to have many different characters instead of just main character really helpedto make this book more interesting. And the way the author did this was by having interviews with differentcharacters throughout the story. For me it was kinda confusing the start but once I started to understand when these transitions happened I realized what a great organizing tool it was for this kinda book. And the way the author shows how the zombies affected different countries depending on the country and how it might react to this kind of apocalypse. Also the ending (without spoiling anything) was very well done and quite a realistic outcome if something like this ever happened in today's world. If you have already seen the movie and wanna read the book its ok! I feel the book and the movie were quite two different stories. And if I had to give my opinion I would definitely say that i enjoyed the book more than the movie. I would say this is a must read even if you don't like zombie related books you should try and give this one a shot!

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Anonymous

Posted October 20, 2013

For a side reading assignment for my honors ELA9 class I read Wo

For a side reading assignment for my honors ELA9 class I read World War Z by Max Brooks. There is no real setting or main character as the entire book is played out as interviews from people all around the world on how they fought/survived the zombie apocalypse. The main story of the book is how humanity itself survived this disease that wiped out millions in a matter of days then continued to eat the remainder of the human population. I really enjoyed reading this book because there are really no others like it, I would recommend anyone to read this if they like survival scenarios and at the same time a science aspect to how it all happened. The relevance of this book is somewhat realistic because we have yet to find a disease that brings the world together to fight it, now I’m not saying that the walking dead will show up at our door but it could be any kind of pandemic that would bring the world leaders together in fear of it. There is lots of suspense all throughout the book, it would sometimes make me look behind me to make sure nothing was creeping up one me. It really had you on the edge of your seat throughout all of the interviews, whether the person was discovering how the disease worked or was abandoned all alone in a highly infested area. There is really no specific point of view due to the different accounts from survivors. I would say that the book is a pretty simple read, but that doesn't mean it is boring. Max Brooks really is the best at these kind of stories, his imagination is put through all of his books and that is what makes it such an interesting read. The language is relatively easy although there are some science words that had me reading them a few times and some paragraphs that you had to reread to really understand. The imagery of the book is truely amazing with the in depth descriptions of the places around the people and the close encounters with the undead. Over all I thought this book was awesome, I really enjoyed it and I will read it over and over again.

Ryan C. (Mrs.Cleland) 1st hour--- (Sign up required for pen name)

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Anonymous

Posted October 15, 2013

I read this book as an outside reading assignment for

I read this book as an outside reading assignment for my Honors English class. Iwould recommend this book because as the reader I loved how the book was broken intoseparate short stories about the war. The story was told with short narratives from different interviewees, which served to be very engaging. The novel took an interesting approach on the zombie apocalypse. The content was well written and it was evident that it had been well researched. World War Z gave an accurate portrayal of humans of all nations coming together under extraordinary circumstances. For example, the American government responded by declaring Martial Law in most cities across the country. To the modern audience, the idea of zombies carried undercurrents of AIDS, biological warfare, and terrorism. Brooks is one of the first to recognize and tap into this in an intelligent manner. He catered the novel towards the audience which I appreciated. I felt as though I was a part of the story-line as it progressed, and this was highly entertaining. However, I feel that it could have been made longer because the story ended rather quickly. Ironically, the author shared the same thought as he mentioned this himself in the introduction. All in all, readers will not put this book down once they start reading it. World War Z is a worthwhile read and one of the best novels I have read.

- Aadil Ali (From Mrs. Eastman Class)+(Pen Name doesn't work)

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Anonymous

Posted August 18, 2013

World War Z an Oral History Of The Zombie war was a great book.

World War Z an Oral History Of The Zombie war was a great book. This action filled horror will keep you on the edge of your seat, and keep you guessing on what's to come next. I would definitely not recommend for a younger audience, do to the of the great deal of gore and death. The visualization in this book was excellent you could almost picture the dark gloomy hospitals where the infected were held during the outbreak. Although World war Z is slow at times, it definitely makes up for with all the action and horror. If you read and enjoyed this book i would definitely prefer reading Dan Brown's Angels And Demons. It also was a great action packed thriller. Again i would recommend this book to any older audience looking for a classic horror novel.

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Anonymous

Posted July 24, 2013

It's a fun book to read. Very entertaining. can't wait to see t

It's a fun book to read. Very entertaining. can't wait to see the movie. I don't like this kind of fiction but its an awesome book. Highly recommended.

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I loved this book! Not being a fan of horror and eschewing anyth

I loved this book! Not being a fan of horror and eschewing anything related to zombies, I shocked myself when I not only bought World War Z, but read it. I don't read these types of books for a reason--my mind likes to replay scenes over and over while I sleep, giving me nightmares. I Am Legend gave me nightmares for a week and I had to walk out of Warm Bodies.

I can hear you laughing from here....

Surprisingly enough, I loved this book, and as long as I didn't read it before bedtime and &quot;cleansed my brain-palate&quot; with another book, I didn't have too many zombie dreams.

World War Z is a well-executed and thought-out book, which appealed to my scientific side that craves exploring every scenario and leaving no stone unturned. Presented in interview format, it tells the story of the Zombie apocalypse through firsthand accounts of those who fought and/or survived the war. I particularly enjoyed how Brooks gave us a realistic view of what would happen to the world if the walking dead were a reality and how the living would react upon first hearing the news. How many of us would actually believe that zombies were real? How many governments would take the threat seriously if someone tried to raise the alarm? And how many mistakes and lives would be lost before we started to get something right? It is a chilling tale. And while it does highlight mankind's dependence on technology and the belief that our government will bail us out, these are the issues that cripple mankind in the fight against the zombies. Eventually the living figure out a better way to fight, but not before we are brought to the brink of near extinction and the loss of most of the civilized world. What is left is a planet that is a mere shadow of what it once was and yet not all the changes are negative.

I particularly enjoyed the socio-economic shift of the United States. The prize jobs went to the blue-collar worker with the skills to rebuild a country while the white-collar worker with little skill outside the boardroom became the janitors and labor crews in the war against the zombies. It's almost enough for me to hone the skills I learned growing up on a farm.... Maybe I'll take up welding as a hobby.

For the record I refuse to go see the movie. My husband and son saw it, and I know the movie and the book aren't very similar. But either way, I cannot do zombie movies (unless it's Shawn of the Dead, which I found hilarious and not the least bit scary). Do I plan to carve out room on my bookshelf for more horror books? Probably not. But I might be willing to give I Am Legend a try. It's been on my Kindle for a year. Haha!

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